Built-in dishwasher

ABSTRACT

A built-in dishwasher to be received in a receiving space of an external structure. The built-in dishwasher includes a protective panel made of a transparent resin, the protective panel being mounted at a ceiling of the receiving space. The protective panel prevents deformation of the external structure due to steam and also, enables easy observation of an operating state of the dishwasher.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No.2010-0019332, filed on Mar. 4, 2010 in the Korean Intellectual PropertyOffice, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Embodiments relate to a built-in dishwasher to enable easy observationof an operating state thereof.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, a dishwasher is an appliance to enable sanitary and efficientwashing of dishes and has dish washing and drying functions.

A dishwasher is mainly installed in a built-in manner along with kitchencomponents, such as a sink, etc. To improve the aesthetics of a built-indishwasher, a front surface of the built-in dishwasher is covered with apanel having the same texture and color as those of kitchen components.

The built-in dishwasher, however, makes observation of an operatingstate (e.g., washing/rinsing/completion) of the dishwasher difficult andtherefore, has been developed to have a configuration for easyobservation of the operating state.

SUMMARY

Therefore, it is an aspect to provide a built-in dishwasher, whichenables easy observation of an operating state thereof.

Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description whichfollows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may belearned by practice of the invention.

In accordance with one aspect, a built-in dishwasher configured to beinserted into a receiving space of an external structure through anopening of the receiving space, includes a case, a wash tub placed inthe case, a door to open or close the wash tub, an operation indicatorto indicate an operating state of the dishwasher, and a protective panelprovided at a ceiling of the receiving space facing the operationindicator and serving to prevent steam, discharged from the wash tubupon opening of the door, from contacting the external structure,wherein the protective panel is made of a light transmitting material totransmit light, emitted from the operation indicator, in a forwarddirection of the door.

The protective panel may be made of any one of glass and transparentresin.

The protective panel may have a length corresponding to a width of thereceiving space and may be located adjacent to the opening of thereceiving space to face an upper surface of the door.

At least one diffuser pattern may be integrally formed at a portion ofthe protective panel facing the operation indicator and may serve todiffuse the light emitted from the operation indicator.

The diffuser pattern may take the form of a V-shaped recess indentedinward from an upper surface of the protective panel.

The at least one diffuser pattern may include a plurality of diffuserpatterns spaced apart from one another in a front-and-rear direction ofthe protective panel.

The plurality of diffuser patterns may be equidistantly arranged.

A distance between the plurality of diffuser patterns may be reducedaway from the operation indicator.

In accordance with another aspect, a built-in dishwasher configured tobe inserted into a receiving space of an external structure through anopening of the receiving space, includes an operation indicator providedat an upper surface of a door that opens or closes a wash tub, and aprotective panel having a length corresponding to a width of thereceiving space and mounted at a ceiling of the receiving space adjacentto the opening of the receiving space, the protective panel serving toprevent deformation of the external structure due to steam dischargedupon opening of the door, wherein the protective panel is made of alight transmitting resin and includes an incidence surface facing theoperation indicator and an emission surface facing a forward directionof the door, and at least one diffuser pattern is integrally formed at aportion of an upper surface of the protective panel facing the operationindicator and serves to reflect light introduced through the incidencesurface to enable emission of the light through the emission surface.

An ornamental panel having the same texture and color as the externalstructure may be provided at a front surface of the door.

The at least one diffuser pattern may take the form of a V-shaped recessindented inward from the upper surface of the protective panel, and mayinclude a plurality of diffuser patterns spaced apart from one anotherin a front-and-rear direction of the protective panel.

The diffuser patterns may be elongated in a width direction of theprotective panel.

A distance between the plurality of diffuser patterns may be reducedtoward the emission surface.

A reflective sheet may be provided at a portion of the incidence surfaceand may serve to prevent the light from leaking through the incidencesurface, rather than being directed to the emission surface.

In accordance with a further aspect, a built-in dishwasher configured tobe inserted into a receiving space of an external structure through anopening of the receiving space, includes an operation indicator to emitlight according to an operating state of the dishwasher, and a lightguide plate having a length corresponding to a width of the receivingspace and mounted at a ceiling of the receiving surface, the light guideplate including an incidence surface facing the operation indicator andan emission surface toward the opening of the receiving space, whereinat least one diffuser pattern is indented in the light guide plate at aposition facing the operation indicator and serves to diffuse lightintroduced into the light guide plate through the incidence surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and/or other aspects will become apparent and more readilyappreciated from the following description of the embodiments, taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of adishwasher according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating the interior of the dishwasheraccording to the embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a protective panel accordingto the embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view illustrating a part of the dishwasherreceived in a receiving space according to the embodiment;

FIG. 5A is a sectional view taken along the line I-I of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5B is a sectional view taken along the line I-I of FIG. 3,illustrating another embodiment; and

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating another embodiment of a diffuser patternformed at the protective panel.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to a built-in dishwasher accordingto embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elementsthroughout.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of adishwasher according to an embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the dishwasher 10 of the present embodimentmay be a built-in dishwasher configured to be inserted into an externalstructure 1. Here, the external structure 1 may be, e.g., a sink orwall.

To receive the dishwasher 10, the external structure 1 may have areceiving space 3, a front side of which is open.

The dishwasher 10 may basically include a case 20 defining an outerappearance of the dishwasher 10, a door 40 pivotally rotatably coupledto a front side of the case 20, and a control panel 50 mounted on anupper surface 41 of the door 40.

When the built-in dishwasher 10 is installed in the external structure1, the entire dishwasher 10 is received in the receiving space 3 of theexternal structure 1 to prevent exposure of the outer appearancethereof.

In addition, to achieve harmony between the door 40 and the externalstructure 1, an ornamental panel 43 having the same texture and color asthose of the external structure 1 may be attached to a front surface ofthe door 40. The ornamental panel 43 may be provided with a grip 45 foruser grip upon opening/closing of the door 40 and thus, may be opened orclosed along with the door 40.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating the interior of the dishwasheraccording to the embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the dishwasher 10 may further include a washtub 21 placed in the case 20 to provide a washing space, and a sump 22provided beneath the wash tub 21 to store wash water therein.

The wash tub 21 may contain at least one dish basket 26 in which dishesare received. The dish basket 26 may be supported on a rail 27 in asliding movable manner.

The wash tub 21 may further contain at least one injection nozzle 28 toinject wash water toward the dishes received in the dish basket 26.

In addition, a water feeder 29 may be provided at a sidewall of the washtub 21, to supply wash water into the wash tub 21, and a heater 30 maybe provided at the bottom of the wash tub 21 to heat wash water.

The sump 22 may be located at the bottom center of the wash tub 21 tocollect wash water and pump the collected wash water. To this end, thesump 22 may include a washing pump 23 to pump wash water at a highpressure and a pump motor 24 to drive the washing pump 23.

The washing pump 23 may pump wash water up to the injection nozzle 28through a first feed pipe 31 and a second feed pipe 32.

The sump 22 may further include a turbidity sensor 25 to detect thepollution level of wash water. A controller (not shown) of thedishwasher 10 may control the implementation number of a washing orrinsing operation based on the pollution level of wash water detected bythe turbidity sensor 25. For example, the controller may increase thenumber of a washing or rinsing operation if the pollution level is high,and may decrease the number of a washing or rinsing operation if thepollution level is low.

A drain pump 33 and a drain pipe 34 may be coupled to the sump 22 todischarge polluted wash water out of the dishwasher 10.

The door 40 coupled to the case 20 may be pivotally rotatable about ahinge shaft 42 provided at a lower end of the case 20, to open or closea front side of the wash tub 21.

The control panel 50 mounted on the upper surface 41 of the door 40 maybe used to display and control operation of the dishwasher 10. Althoughnot shown, a circulation duct may be inserted in an interior space ofthe door 40.

The control panel 50, as illustrated in FIG. 1, may include, e.g., adisplay part 51 including a touch panel, etc., to input an operationmode and washing course of the dishwasher 10, an operation indicator 53to indicate a current operating state of the dishwasher 10, and aPrinted Circuit Board (PCB) connected to these components.

The display part 51 and the operation indicator 53 are arranged on theupper surface 41 of the door 40. The display part 51 is provided withoperating buttons, such as a button to select a washing, rinsing ordrying course, a power on/off button, etc., to allow a user to operatethe dishwasher 10.

The operation indicator 53 includes light emitting elements, such asLight Emitting Diodes (LEDs), etc. During operation of the dishwasher10, the operation indicator 53 emits light to allow the user to observea current operating state of the dishwasher 10.

The above-described dishwasher 10, as illustrated in FIG. 1, is receivedin the receiving space 3 of the external structure 1 so as not to beexposed to the outside. Thus, it may be difficult to observe the lightemitted from the operation indicator 53 arranged on the upper surface 41of the door 40 from the outside.

Further, if the door 40 is opened or closed after operation of thedishwasher 10, high-temperature steam within the wash tub 21 may bedischarged directly to the external structure 1. This may causedeformation of the external structure 1.

In particular, if the external structure 1 is made of wood, deformationof the external structure 1 may be accelerated.

To prevent deformation of the external structure 1, in the presentembodiment, a protective panel 60 may be provided at a ceiling of thereceiving space 3 in which the dishwasher 10 is received, to preventsteam discharged upon opening/closing of the door 40 from directlycontacting the external structure 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the protective panel accordingto the embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view illustrating a part ofthe dishwasher received in the receiving space. Also, FIG. 5A is asectional view taken along the line I-I of FIG. 3, and FIG. 5B is asectional view taken along the line I-I of FIG. 3, illustrating anotherembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the protective panel 60 may have arectangular shape and may have a predetermined thickness and a lengthcorresponding to a width W of the receiving space 3 (see FIG. 1).

The protective panel 60 may also have a predetermined front-and-rearlength F, which is determined to prevent steam discharged uponopening/closing of the door 40 from directly contacting the ceiling 5 ofthe external structure 1.

The protective panel 60 may be made of a transparent material, such asglass, acryl-based resin or the like. The protective panel 60 may beattached to the ceiling 5 at a position adjacent to the open front sideof the receiving space 3, such that one surface, i.e. a front surface ofthe protective panel 60 is exposed to the outside.

In this case, a lower surface of the protective panel 60 facing theupper surface 41 of the door 40 may serve as an incidence surface 61,into which the light emitted from the operation indicator 53 isintroduced. The front surface of the protective panel 60, exposedthrough the open front side of the receiving space 3, may serve as anemission surface 63 from which the light introduced through theincidence surface 61 is emitted.

Specifically, the protective panel 60 may be a light guide plate made ofa light transmitting material, which serves to transmit the lightemitted from the operation indicator 53 in a forward direction of thedoor 40.

In this way, the transparent protective panel 60 may function not onlyto prevent deformation of the external structure 1 due to steamdischarged from the dishwasher 10, but also to transmit the light,emitted from the operation indicator 53 arranged on the upper surface 41of the door 40, in a forward direction of the door 40.

In addition, the protective panel 60 may have at least one diffuserpattern 67 integrally formed at an upper surface 65 thereof to diffusethe light directed from the operation indicator 53 to the protectivepanel 60.

The diffuser pattern 67 may function to reflect or refract the lightintroduced through the incidence surface 61 of the protective panel 60,to transmit the light to the emission surface 63 of the protective panel60.

The diffuser pattern 67 may be provided at the upper surface 65 of theprotective panel 60 at a position facing the operation indicator 53arranged on the upper surface 41 of the door 40. The diffuser pattern 67may take the form of a V-shaped recess indented inward from the uppersurface 65 of the protective panel 60, to refract or reflect the lightintroduced into the protective panel 60 at a predetermined angle.

As the diffuser pattern 67 in the form of a triangular recess reflectsor refracts the light that have emitted from the operation indicator 53and introduced into the protective panel 60 through the incidencesurface 61 and thus, causes condensation of the light emitted from theemission surface 63, enhanced forward brightness and visibility may beaccomplished.

In one embodiment, a plurality of diffuser patterns 67 may be spacedapart from one another in a front-and-rear direction F of the protectivepanel 60, and more particularly, may be equidistantly arranged asillustrated in FIG. 5A.

In another embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 5B, a plurality ofdiffuser patterns 67 may be arranged such that a distance S between theneighboring diffuser patterns 67 is reduced away from the operationindicator 53, i.e. toward the emission surface 63.

Some of the diffuser patterns 67 adjacent to the operation indicator 53receive a sufficient quantity of light emitted from the operationindicator 53, but the quantity of light introduced into the remainingdiffuser patterns 67 is reduced away from the operation indicator 53.Therefore, when reducing the distance S between the neighboring diffuserpatterns 67, it may be possible to increase the quantity of light to beemitted from the emission surface 63 and consequently, enhancevisibility of the user.

Although not illustrated in the present embodiment, the shape of thediffuser patterns 67 is not limited to the above description. When it isdesired to diffuse the light directed from the operation indicator 53over a wide range, the diffuser patterns 67 may have a curved crosssectional shape.

For example, owing to various combinations of, e.g., the shape, size ordistance of the diffuser patterns 67 integrally formed at the uppersurface 65 of the protective panel 60, it may be possible to effectivelyirradiate the light emitted from the operation indicator 53 through theemission surface 63 in a forward direction of the door 40.

In addition, a reflective sheet 69 (see FIG. 4) may be provided at theincidence surface 61 of the protective panel 60 located between theoperation indicator 53 and the emission surface 63. Once the lightemitted from the operation indicator 53 is introduced into the incidencesurface 61 of the protective panel 61, the reflective sheet 69 preventsthe light from leaking from the incidence surface 61 rather than beingdirected toward the emission surface 63.

The reflective sheet 69 may be formed at the incidence surface 61 by asilk screen method using paste containing materials exhibiting a highdegree of reflectivity.

Meanwhile, although the present embodiment illustrates the diffuserpatterns 67 as being formed at a partial region of the upper surface 65of the protective panel 60 to correspond to the operation indicator 53,as illustrated in FIG. 6, at least one diffuser pattern 67 may beelongated in a direction of the protective panel 60 designated by thearrow W.

Even if a plurality of operation indicators 53 is provided on the uppersurface 41 of the door 40, it may be unnecessary to form the diffuserpatterns 67 at every position corresponding to the respective operationindicators 53 when the elongated diffuser pattern 67 extending in thedirection W is formed at the upper surface 65 of the protective panel 60and thus, enhanced productivity and universality of the protective panel60 may be accomplished.

For example, even if a plurality of operation indicators 53 is providedon the upper surface 41 of the door 40 to emit different colors of lightaccording to a washing, rinsing or drying course of the dishwasher 10,it may be unnecessary to form the diffuser patterns 67 to correspond tothe operation indicators 53 in a one to one ratio.

Hereinafter, operation and effects of the dishwasher according to theembodiment will be described.

First, if the user inputs a washing condition and washing time to thecontrol panel 50 in an open state of the door 40 and then, closes thedoor 40, the dishwasher 10 begins to be operated. During operation ofthe dishwasher 10, the operation indicator 53 emits light correspondingto a current operating state of the dishwasher 10.

In this case, since the dishwasher 10 is embedded in the receiving space3 of the external structure 1, the outer appearance of the dishwasher 10is hidden by the external structure 1 once the door 40 is closed, butthe light emitted from the operation indicator 53 is introduced into theincidence surface 61 of the protective panel 60 attached to the ceiling5 of the receiving space 3. Thereby, as the light is directed to theemission surface 63 so as to be emitted to the outside, the user mayperceive an operating state of the dishwasher 10.

Moreover, as the diffuser patterns 67 diffuse the light passing throughthe protective panel 60, the user visibility may be further enhanced.

Meanwhile, even if high-temperature steam within the dishwasher 10 isdischarged upon opening of the door 40 after the operation of thedishwasher 10 is completed, the high-temperature steam contacts theprotective panel 60 attached to the ceiling 5 of the receiving space 3.Accordingly, it may be possible to prevent the high-temperature steamfrom directly contacting the external structure 1, thereby preventingdeformation of the external structure 1.

That is, the protective panel 60 of the present embodiment may serve notonly to prevent the high-temperature steam within the dishwasher 10 fromdirectly contacting the external structure 1, but also to allow the userto perceive a current operating state of the built-in dishwasher 10 fromthe outside.

The diffuser patterns 67 may be integrally formed at the protectivepanel 60 and this may enhance productivity of the protective panel 60.

As is apparent from the above description, a built-in dishwasheraccording to an embodiment may allow a user to easily perceive a currentoperating state of the dishwasher from the outside.

Further, the built-in dishwasher according to the embodiment may preventdeformation of an external structure in which the dishwasher isembedded, thus providing enhanced reliability in operation.

Although a few embodiments have been shown and described, it would beappreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made inthese embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit ofthe invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and theirequivalents.

1. A built-in dishwasher configured to be inserted into a receivingspace of an external structure through an opening of the receivingspace, comprising: a case; a wash tub placed in the case; a door to openor close the wash tub; an operation indicator to indicate an operatingstate of the dishwasher; and a protective panel provided at a ceiling ofthe receiving space facing the operation indicator and serving toprevent steam, discharged from the wash tub upon opening of the door,from contacting the external structure, wherein the protective panel ismade of a light transmitting material to transmit light, emitted fromthe operation indicator, in a forward direction of the door.
 2. Thebuilt-in dishwasher according to claim 1, wherein the protective panelis made of any one of glass and transparent resin.
 3. The built-indishwasher according to claim 1, wherein the protective panel has alength corresponding to a width of the receiving space and is locatedadjacent to the opening of the receiving space to face an upper surfaceof the door.
 4. The built-in dishwasher according to claim 3, wherein atleast one diffuser pattern is integrally formed at a portion of theprotective panel facing the operation indicator and serves to diffusethe light emitted from the operation indicator.
 5. The built-indishwasher according to claim 4, wherein the diffuser pattern takes theform of a V-shaped recess indented inward from an upper surface of theprotective panel.
 6. The built-in dishwasher according to claim 4,wherein the at least one diffuser pattern includes a plurality ofdiffuser patterns spaced apart from one another in a front-and-reardirection of the protective panel.
 7. The built-in dishwasher accordingto claim 6, wherein the plurality of diffuser patterns is equidistantlyarranged.
 8. The built-in dishwasher according to claim 6, wherein adistance between the plurality of diffuser patterns is reduced away fromthe operation indicator.
 9. A built-in dishwasher configured to beinserted into a receiving space of an external structure through anopening of the receiving space, comprising: an operation indicatorprovided at an upper surface of a door that opens or closes a wash tub;and a protective panel having a length corresponding to a width of thereceiving space and mounted at a ceiling of the receiving space adjacentto the opening of the receiving space, the protective panel serving toprevent deformation of the external structure due to steam dischargedupon opening of the door, wherein the protective panel is made of alight transmitting resin and includes an incidence surface facing theoperation indicator and an emission surface facing a forward directionof the door, and wherein at least one diffuser pattern is integrallyformed at a portion of an upper surface of the protective panel facingthe operation indicator and serves to reflect light introduced throughthe incidence surface to enable emission of the light through theemission surface.
 10. The built-in dishwasher according to claim 9,wherein an ornamental panel having the same texture and color as theexternal structure is provided at a front surface of the door.
 11. Thebuilt-in dishwasher according to claim 9, wherein the at least onediffuser pattern takes the form of a V-shaped recess indented inwardfrom the upper surface of the protective panel, and includes a pluralityof diffuser patterns spaced apart from one another in a front-and-reardirection of the protective panel.
 12. The built-in dishwasher accordingto claim 11, wherein the diffuser patterns are elongated in a widthdirection of the protective panel.
 13. The built-in dishwasher accordingto claim 11, wherein a distance between the plurality of diffuserpatterns is reduced toward the emission surface.
 14. The built-indishwasher according to claim 11, wherein a reflective sheet is providedat a portion of the incidence surface and serves to prevent the lightfrom leaking through the incidence surface, rather than being directedto the emission surface.
 15. A built-in dishwasher configured to beinserted into a receiving space of an external structure through anopening of the receiving space, comprising: an operation indicator toemit light according to an operating state of the dishwasher; and alight guide plate having a length corresponding to a width of thereceiving space and mounted at a ceiling of the receiving surface, thelight guide plate including an incidence surface facing the operationindicator and an emission surface toward the opening of the receivingspace, wherein at least one diffuser pattern is indented in the lightguide plate at a position facing the operation indicator and serves todiffuse light introduced into the light guide plate through theincidence surface.